The Deathly Pair
by Tornado 666
Summary: Seto Kaiba and Joey Wheeler seem to hate each other with a passion, but could that just be a facade for something else. The two are assassins and are ready to escape the lifestlye, but will they succeed?
1. Marcus Mellor

Tornado: Hey peeps.  This idea came to me last night while I was eating dinner, and it seemed good.

DT: I always wondered why she carried a notebook along with her. She started writing things in the middle of dinner.

Tornado: Needless to say my parents weren't too happy.

DT: Tornado doesn't own Yugioh. 

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Marcus Mellor is a headstrong businessman from Denver, Colorado.  His company, Mellor and Jacobs Incorporated, is the biggest military manufacturer on the west coast.  They provide the US military with everything from guns to tanks.  He is the CEO of the multibillion-dollar company, and the fourth richest man in America.  I was assigned to kill him.

His partner, Ethan Jacobs, sought the help of my employer, Gozaburo Kaiba, who put my partner and me on the case.  Everything was carefully planned, nothing could go wrong; it never did when I schemed the mission.  Mellor was spending a few nights in Domino City, California to meet with the largest technology producer in the United States CEO.  I, Seto Kaiba, am that CEO.  That night I was holding a dance that he was invited to.  When he left, we would follow him to his apartment, and slit his throat leaving behind no evidence whatsoever.  Not only had it been planned perfectly, but also it was executed in the same manner.

Mellor left after about half of the other guests, and I excused myself from the group of executives that I was conversing with.  I surveyed the prey that would soon be consumed as he stepped into the black limo that awaited him.  I turned the corner to find a black Honda Civic waiting my arrival.  The driver was a blonde boy, no older than sixteen, with brown eyes that were partially covered by straw bangs.  I slid into the passenger seat, and glanced at the other occupant.  He was focused on the alleyway ahead of him; his gaze never left the street as he handed me a plastic contact container.  I sighed as I opened the lid to reveal two green lenses.  

"This is ridiculous.  Why do I have to wear contact lenses, but you don't?" I asked annoyed.

"Cause my brown isn't as easy ta identify as your blue ones.  Sides, he might put two and two together," the blonde replied.

"Not that it's going to matter because he's going to be dead anyway before anyone can get to him."

"Boss's orders, and I don' question."

"Let's do this, Joey, before the other guests begin to suspect anything."

Joey didn't say another word as he sped out of the alleyway, and onto the main street.  His turns were automatic, and the more I watched him, the more I began to appreciate his abilities.  He was the perfect assassin. We reached the hotel the Mellor was staying in, and got into the elevator for the top floor.  

"Who's gonna kill him?" Joey asked.

"You got the last one, so I get this one."

He nodded, and we finished the short ride in silence.  We stepped onto the top floor, and I pulled out a phone card, sliding it between the doorframe and the door.  After a few minutes, we were admitted to enter, leaving the phone card in a chewed up heap.  My leather gloves forced my hands to sweat as we stalked through the seating area.  Joey held a Glock in his gloved hands in case I couldn't kill our target fast enough. The noise was coming from the bedroom, and Joey and I strode in without any hesitation.  Mellor lay in bed, completely naked, with a redheaded woman, who was also completely naked.  I saw Joey smirk, knowing that he wanted to have fun with the girl as well, but I glared at him, turning his expression professional again.

"Who the hell are you?  What's the fuck is going on here?" Mellor asked when he noticed us.

"We're here to send you peacefully into the hell hole that you will be required to dwell in for the rest of you pathetic existence," I informed him.  "You and your slut as well."

Mellor looked thoroughly frightened, as he should have been.  The girl seemed to know her fate, and accepted it quietly.   I shot Joey a suspicious glance, and he caught my train of thought.  He aimed his gun at the so-called prostitute.

"A'right, whore, get out of da bed slowly," he said firmly. 

The girl did as she was told, revealing a near perfect body.  Her breasts were overly large and she had an hourglass shape to her.  I caught Joey gawking at the girl again.

"Hey, horny, you can take a dip in the luxuries when we get this done," I snapped.

"Sorry, just do it already."

I nodded, and walked over to the bed.  The man lying in it pulled away, but I caught him, slitting his throat in the process.  His bedmate was too calm about having seen the man be stabbed.  Joey caught this as well, and questioned what to do with her.  I returned his gaze with a sadistic smile, and he slammed her against the wall.  He held her in place tightly, while I rummaged through all of her possessions, determining what exactly she was.  There was no doubt in my mind that she was going to die, but I'd like to know who exactly was on my case.  

I found a Beretta tucked away in her purse.  Joey gave an amused scoff, still keeping the gun trained on her temple.  I dug a little deeper, and found the thing that I had been searching for.

"So Agent Lithe, how do you feel about dying on a mission that the FBI placed you on?" I asked.

"You'll never get away with this," she spat.

"Watch us," I said, wrapping her long fingers around the blade in my hand.  

I guided her over to the gurgling form of Marcus Mellor, and shoved her hand into his throat, twisting it to the side.  Mellor gave a final shudder before falling limp.  The woman was shocked, and stared at me with her mouth open and her eyes wide.  I smiled viciously before throwing her onto the bed. Joey's eyes went wide for a moment, but soon returned to normal when he realized my tactic.

"I'll allow you to live if you sleep with me," I whispered to my prey.

"Why? Can't you get a girl of your own?" she asked.

"No, of course not.  Do you or don't you accept?"

"I'll accept," she answered, hesitantly.

"Wrong answer," I said lifting the blade to her throat, and slitting it as well.

Her eyes widened in shock, but soon comprehended the fact that I had tricked her into believing that she could live.   I turned to Joey, who was holding his groin and carried a look of disappointment on his face.  

"I wish yah would have let me play a little."

"I'll comment on that later, right now let's get out of here," I said leaving the two bodies.

"It looks just like a murder/suicide," he commented.

"That's how it's supposed to look.  I hadn't planned on the federal agent, but it all worked out in the end."

We left the room, and departed the hotel in complete silence.  Joey was slightly agitated the rest of the way to the car. Finally it became too much for me to bear.

"Look, if you're horny just go fuck Mai for god's sake."

"I thought yah didn't believe in God," the boy replied.

"I don't, but it makes the expression sound so much better," I shot.

"Yah goin' ta go fuck Tea after that snob fest of yours?"

"Probably.  I just hope she's in the mood for it."

"That's the good thing about Mai, she's always in the mood for sex."

"That's the price I pay for a friendship freak, I guess."

"I couldn' live without sex."

"No shit, Sherlock.  I swear you're bi."

"Duh, how long it'd take yah ta figure that one out?"

"On my assignment with you."

"Opps, sorry bout that."

"All right.  God I'm horny."

"So what yah gonna do if she ain' in da mood."

"Take matters into my own hands."

"Yah ain' gonna rape her, are yah?"

"Christ your stupid.  I think that's what makes you a good assassin, you're too stupid to ask questions."

"I know yah don't question orders either."

"That's because I'm smart enough to know not to."

"A'right, here's yah stop.  Get out of my goddamned car."

"Oh, and Joey, don't forget to dump it."

"I won'.  See yah at school, moneybags."

"Whatever, mutt." 

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Tornado: So what did you think?

DT: Not a bad start, but it needs to get more interesting.

Tornado: Trust me it will. R&R.


	2. Mellor's Aftermath

Tornado: I am so happy!  I got two reviews on my first chapter!  Thank you Li and Angel-soul03 for reviewing.  

DT: We didn't get a good response to the pairings here.

Tornado: Tea/Seto _is_ disgusting, but I didn't have another female character to place him with.

DT: What about Serenity?

Tornado: Could you imagine how that would go over with Joey?

DT: Good point, but _Tea_?

Tornado: From the chapter that has been posted, do you honestly think that every person that I mention will be alive at the end?

DT: Good point, and with your gruesome brain, I think that the first chapter was a watered down version of beer.

Tornado: Oh trust me it was.  Don't own Yugioh.

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Nobody had suspected a thing last night.  It was the first thing on the morning news that Mellor was dead, but they had nothing to connect Joey and me to the murder.  It was announced that it seemed to be a murder/suicide, but authorities were still looking.  I chuckled when they said that the woman's identity was not found on the scene, not that it mattered because we weren't there, and that was that. 

I came downstairs to find Mokuba watching the news.  His face was contorted into a look of horror as the details were released.  His head immediately shot in my direction as I came down the stairs.  His face was full off worry.  

"What's wrong, little brother?" I asked.

"Did you see the news?  About Mellor having his throat slit?"

"Yeah.  Shame, he was a good guy."

"What if something like that happens to you, Seto?"

"It would take a sniper, not some slut off of the street."

"You should think about that though.  I mean, you go on these business trips, and stay in those hotels.  What if someone does do that to you?"

"Mokuba, there is a key difference here.  I don't pick girls up off the street, and I have security straight outside my door."

"How do you know there wasn't security?" he interrogated.   

"It was on the news earlier," I lied.

"Oh, okay.  Can we go to school early?"

"Why?"

"There's no reason," he said all too quickly.

"Uh-uh, Mokuba, why do you want to go to school early?"

"There's this girl," he began.

"There's always a girl.  Continue."

"I really like her, but she doesn't notice me.  I just want to talk to her before everybody else gets there."

"She comes early?"

"Yeah, she's always there when I arrive."

_Uh-huh._  "Just say hi to her sometime."

"I say hi to her halls."

"Does she answer?"

"Yeah."

"What's her typical answer?"

"'Hi, Mokuba.'"

_Yeah, kid, she notices._  "Start a conversation with her sometime."

"That's what I want to do today."

"Well then let's go.  Hopefully we'll get there before too many people arrive."

We stood, and strode out the door.  My black Mercedes was awaiting us, and the driver opened the door.  Mokuba sat silently, fiddling with his thumbs.  I stared out the window, double-checking the movements that Joey and I had made last night.  It had been dangerous to go into the hotel room, but there was no good spot set up a sniper post.  Joey had agreed with me immediately, and offered to find us a knife that we could use.  He had selected a household kitchen knife that could be bought in just about any department store.  On top of that, he had Serenity buy it for him, so it would not be linked back to us.  

The car soon stopped, and Mokuba gave me a hug before jumping out of the limo.  There was a blonde girl sitting on the brick-wall that lined the whole perimeter of Domino Elementary School.  Mokuba sat down beside her, diving right into a conversation.  I smiled as I watched my brother work his magic, and soon the girl was giggling with him.  I smiled, and told the driver to take me to the Domino High School.  The grounds were deserted, not even the teachers had arrived yet, but there was one lone soul leaning against the white walls.

"You're here early," I said leaning beside him.

"Well, I needed ta discuss something wit yah," the boy said.

"We didn't trip, mutt, I went over our actions this morning."

"Gozaburo wants us ta up and kill another one."

"Did you tell him about the agent?"

"Nah.  Wouldn' gimme a chance.  Yah either talk ta him, or we go do dis thing without questions."

"I'll be sure to talk to him.  we can't kill another one when the feds are here."

"Da feds are here?"

"We dropped an agent, what do you expect?"

"They move fast."

"Lie low.  No matter what lie low.  And for god's sake, don't under any circumstance, meet me anywhere except the park."

"Gatch yah, moneybags.  Shit!  Here come the guys!"

"Whatever, mutt."

"What yah call me Kaiba?"

"You heard me.  I called you a mutt."

"Yah are so dead!" he cried before attempting to lunge at me.

the group that had been walking toward the gates, broke into a flat out run.  A pointy-haired brunette grabbed the blonde before he could proceed to hurt me.

"Clam down, Joey, Kaiba is just trying to get a rise out of you!" the brunette yelled.

"Lemme at him, Tristan!  I'll show dat no good, cheating, son-of-a-bitch why he souldn' mess wit Joey Wheeler!"

"Whatever, mutt. Go back to the pound where you belong."

"Easy, Joey," a blonde haired, purple eyed girl said.  "I don't need my boyfriend getting beaten up before homecoming."

"Your right, Mai," the blonde boy replied as he stopped struggling against the brunette's hold.  "I'm wastin my time wit dat jerk."

"I don't understand why the two of you can't get along," an ocean-eyed brunette exclaimed.  "You both need to deflate your egos a bit."

"Oh come on, Tea, my ego is just fine the way it is.  The mutt's head has to deflate a bit because he thinks he is what he isn't," I informed her.

"I wish the two of you would get along," Tea said, stomping her foot on the ground.  "You two are the biggest cocks in school!"

"And your point is?" I asked.

"You need a reality check!"

"I'll take one.  Come here," I said as I pulled her into a passionate kiss.

The others huffed in disgust, and walked off.  The moment that they left, I stopped kissing Tea, and rushed off to my classroom.  I needed to contact Gozaburo before he had a fit.  I entered the classroom, and emergency e-mailed Gozaburo.

**Gozaburo, we need to talk!**

His answer came back fast and irritated.  **_What do you want I'm in the middle of my therapy._**

**Send whatever slut/s you have in the room with you out, this cannot wait.**

A few moments later his next message came through: **_What is going on?  Does this have anything to do with you last assignment?_**

**It has everything to do with it.  I heard through the grapevine that you want another one done.**

**_That's correct._**

**You can't give us another one. __**

**_Why not?  What did you screw up with the last one?_**

**We bowled the B.**

**_You cannot be serious!  How?_**

It took us by surprise, and we had to improvise, but I'm not sure if it's going to work.

Do nothing unless you're told.  I want updates everyday.  There is no way that this building is going to fall.

And Gozaburo, don't hand the project to anybody else.  We want it.

**_Done_**, was all he typed before signing off.  

I slid back in my seat, and waited for Joey to enter the classroom.  I was thankful that the stupid principle had so conveniently stuck us in the same homeroom together. Now, I didn't have to wait until lunch to tell him the news.  A few moments later, the gang walked in, and Joey came straight up to me with expectant eyes.

"What's new, moneybags?" he asked, with slight panic in his voice.

"Relax, dog, the day has been generous, but you might want to lie low for a few weeks.  You really played with fire this time," I replied.

He stalked away, giving his groupies a relieved expression.  He had understood my lingo.  I was debating whether I should set a date for the park tonight.  _It probably wouldn't hurt._  

At lunch, I strode purposely over to the group's table.  They watched as I approached, anticipating another verbal attack, but I went up to Tea and kissed her sweetly.  She responded, and I deepened the kiss.  When we broke apart, Joey was staring at us, annoyed.

"Would you like us to do this at another time, mutt?" I asked.

"Yeah.  You can ta da park at midnight and do it," he retorted.

I smirked before returning to my table at the far side of the room.  _Midnight it is._

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Tornado: I know that the chapter was short, but it will get longer and better.

DT: This is actually turning out to be a half decent story, but I think we need to get to the plot some time soon.

Tornado: All in good time.  I like to pack the beginning with things that will need to be remembered at the end, but that causes my writing to seem to drone on and on.  

DT: We'll pack this with action for you, but my hikari wants to say something first.

Tornado: Please listen very carefully.  **THERE WILL BE LOTS OF DEATH, BLOOD, GUTS AND GORE.  CHARACTERS WILL DIE AND THERE WILL BE LEMON.   SHIT GETS BLOWN UP!**(a bit excessively) **THERE WILL BE LOTS OF VIOLENCE AND GUNS.  IF YOU ARE A TEA FAN, MY ADVICE TO YOU IS TO NOT READ MUCH FARTHER.  THAT GOES FOR MAI AS WELL.  **If you cannot stand the previous things, my advice to you is to stop reading this fic right now, and find another story.  Li, I cannot disclose anything about the pairings because it may affect the plot.  Please be patient with my story.  I will make sure that there is lots of action.

DT: This should be one of her better stories because the girl is obsessed with violence.

Tornado: I watch lots of action movies and read tons of murder/mystery books.  Please R&R.


	3. Getting Out

Tornado: You like it!  You really like it! I'm so happy!  I got four reviews.  Thanks to mezu, Li, angelsoul03, and crazytomboy1 for reviewing.

DT: For the record, Tornado updates whenever she gets an idea, but it may take a few days to get it up or complete the chapter.

Tornado: I don't own Yugioh, which sucks because it would have swearing, death, and LEMON!!!!!

DT: You should change your pen name to lemon freak.

Tornado: Nah, because then I'd have to go back and rewrite the chapters I've posted.  I already changed my pen name from Tornado to Tornado 666.  On with the story.

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Did you ever get that feeling where you know you're doing the wrong thing, but it feels right?  Well, that was how I felt now.  The more I thought about my life, the more I realized that it was all a lie.  I lied to Mokuba constantly so he would never catch on to what I was doing those nights and days that I was away on business or in my office with loads of work to do.  Yes, Kaiba Corps really doesn't take much work to run, but my second job does.  I work longer on one case than I do in a year at Kaiba Corps.  No one knows that of course.  With all of the projects that I do, they never raise suspicion on what I work on exactly.  Truth be told, my projects don't take that much time at all.  I get the blueprints done in a day, and the next I'm well on my way to completing it.  

I thought about that all day long.  My lies, my secret life, the ways I used people on enumerable occasions, and that's when it hit me… 

I wanted out.

I suppose that I had been the real reason that I had agreed to meet with Joey.  I wanted this all to come to an end.  I realized that this is what I wanted all along, to leave the business.  It was extortion, and I knew it.  I can't really remember why I hadn't done it sooner.  Wait, yes I did.  Mokuba.  I was afraid to quit because that would mean that I had to explain it to him that I was a killer.  What a big brother that would make me.  I thought about how I got into this in the first place.  Gozaburo had threatened to kill Mokuba if I didn't join him.  Well, there was a no-brainer; I had to.  Joey had come two years after I did, and we became partners.  Secretly I lusted for the boy, but there was one thing that I knew would happen if we became involved: he would become a liability.  Say we had a fight, and he stormed off all pissed at me.  He loses his head, and contacts the authorities; gives the information he has for immunity.  I take the fall alone, and my little brother ends up in an orphanage, heartbroken that his older brother would abandon him.  If I was lucky, I would get a life sentence; the chances of that were slim.  I knew that if I explained the situation that I had been in I would at least get another few days to live, but it would never over turn my case.  I kept my distance from Joey.  I stood waiting for him in the dark.  

Footsteps approached behind me, and a hand lay on my shoulder.  I grabbed the limb, pulling its owner over my head and landing on the ground.  The assailant was a manly blonde girl with chocolate eyes.  I smiled as I helped her up.

"Either I'm getting good, or you're slipping."

"Your gettin' good.  Why did yah wanna meet?"

"Joey, how have we been in this business together?" I asked.

"Bout a year 'n a half, why?"

"In that year and a half, how many lies do you think we've told?"

"You're askin' for a miracle to count 'em all.  I think we each tell about ten a day."

"I let info slip at breakfast; Mokuba got curious.  I lied, like I always do when he gets too close."

"Seto, I want out," the blonde said.  "And I know yah do too."

"We have the fact that we bowled another B over, which makes about five now.  Others have only whacked one or two; hell a lot of them have never whacked any.  That gives him a reason to let us go."

"Da bastard, probably thinks we're gonna talk."

"Why would we do that?  We can't get immunity for both of us."

"Yah never know."

"You haven't been talking, have you?"

"Course not!  I'd never sell yah out.  So what are we gonna do?"

I extracted a laptop from my briefcase, and booted it up.  I impatiently tapped my foot until the desktop popped up.  I quickly went into my disguised communications program, and sent an urgent message to the boss: **Gozaburo, we want to talk.**

Shortly after his reply came with a few errors.  He was either drunk or in fear.  **_Wjaht do youo want this time?_**

**We want out.**

There was a pause.  It was as if the computer took a moment to send the message, but an answer came shortly. **_Why do you want out?_**

Too many lies.  The heat's on now.  We've gotten five Bs and I think it's time that we retire. 

Very well.  You may get out, but if you talk to anyone; I'll kill you, I'll kill your families, and then I take Kaiba Corps.  In the opposite order.

It's understood.  I'll delete this program, and anything else that you may have to locate me.  

See that you do, and he was gone.

A large increment of weight was lifted from my shoulders to be sunk again.  That had been easy, too easy.  I began to wonder which of us he would strike.  An image of a small wild, raven-haired boy lying dead in his room fluttered across my mind.  Got to get home!  I jumped up, replacing the laptop in its case.  Joey was sprinting toward the exit of the park, and I tore off after him.  It was too risky to stay here any longer.  Who knew where he would strike.  

I slammed the accelerator on my Porsche Carrera, and sped from the parking lot.  My tires squealed as I took off down the street.  I had driven this way many times before, sometimes escaping security.  I found my mansion to be quiet as usual.  The lights were all turned off, there was not a thing out of place, but most importantly, there was no deathly smell.  Still, I crept to my brother's room, drawing my gun as I did so.  My Smith and Wesson gleamed in the moonlight, appearing as deadly as it could in my hands.  I cracked the door open to find my brother sleeping peacefully in his bed.  There was no copper smell or crimson liquid that I had become accustomed to.  I still pointed my gun at all angles of the room, finding it empty.  I even checked the closet and the adjoining bathroom, but still found nothing.  I walked over to my sleeping sibling, half expecting him to be colder than ice.  His skin was hot to the touch almost as if he had a fever, but that was just my brother. 

I sat in the chair beside his bed, and watched the small child sleep.  I remembered one trip to England where the CEO of a French wine company had mistaken him for my son.  In a way, I guess he is.  Then again, he'll never be.  My protectiveness over him is way too strong for that of a father.  My brother can't go anywhere with a tracking device or me.  That was just the way it worked.  Mokuba knew that I worried about him so much, so he thought it was best just to cooperate with me.  It was better to be safe than sorry as my mother had once said, but that was long ago.  I thought that it was rather funny that I could remember more about my mother than my father, yet he lived longer.  I knew that after my mother died I had become withdrawn from the world, even more so after I was adopted.

I had been in the room for a half an hour when my cell phone rang.  The sleeping boy stirred, and rolled over to face me.  He was groggy.  I said nothing to him as I whipped up the phone and barked: "Kaiba."

"Shit just hit da fan," a male voice said.

"Fuck, what happened?" I snapped.

"Tristan.  He- he was shot."

I sinking sensation came to me.  Gozaburo had indeed picked a target, one that we were sure not to protect.  

"Where's Yugi?" I asked suddenly.

"I thought of dat too.  He's here wit me, but I need yah ta come over here.  He may strike again."

"Who all is there?"

"Everybody except Mai, and I just called her.  She said dat she was on her way."

"Call her back and tell her that I'm going to meet her at the north bridge."

"Yah got it," he said calmly before hanging up.

This had to be hard for him.  He hadn't said any specifics, but I knew that the chances weren't good.  There was so much going through my head when a small, groggy voice asked: "Big brother?"

"Get dressed, Mokuba.  We have to go to the hospital."

He said nothing as he got out of bed and dressed.  I never let him out of my sight, which caused him to worry.  I gave him a reassuring hug before ushering him out the door.  We slid into my Silver Mustang Cobra before speeding toward the north bridge.  Mai was already there when we arrived, and she looked suspiciously at me as she jumped into the back.  The moment she was sitting I floored the car, and was on a flat out dash to the hospital.  She didn't squeak about the speed.  She seemed to know that there was definitely something amuck with the whole situation.

We entered the pristine hospital lobby, and approached a very old woman who was sitting behind the desk.

"May I help you?" her drawled voice asked.

"Could you tell me the room of Tristan Taylor?" I asked attentively. 

"He's still in surgery.  The waiting room is on the second floor.  Tenth room on the left," she informed after a short computer check.  

I nodded, directing the other two to the elevator.  Joey knew that it had been Gozaburo, and he had expected it.  I had a hunch that he was denying the severity of the wound.  Mai was silent along with Mokuba.  Hell everybody was silent.  We entered the waiting room, causing a few people to gasp.  There was a couple huddled together.  The woman had deep brown hair and black eyes, while the man had pointed blonde hair and hazel eyes.  They stared up at me.

"Are you one of Tristan's friends?" the woman asked.

"Kind of.  I'm here for a different reason," I answered, and it confused them.

"Kaiba is here ta help us find out who shot Tristan.  I think he may know something," Joey explained.

Their expression turned from confused to angry.  "What have you done to our son?" the man shouted.

"Look," I replied calmly.  "This has nothing to do with Tristan."

"If this has nothing to do with Tristan, than why was he shot?" the woman asked. 

"Tristan was a…" I hesitated.

"A sacrifice," Joey finished.

"Not exactly.  More like a, um, a trigger."

"A trigger for what?"

"An emotional trigger.  I suspect that who ever did this will have a target on the others," I said motioning to the other occupants of the room.

Joey and I were the only ones who seemed to understand this.  I glanced at Mokuba.  He was in deep thought about something.  I knew that he would figure this out before the night was over.  

"Who would do such a thing?" the woman asked.

"I'm not sure," I lied.

"We aren't sure," Joey corrected.  I let it ride.

"You two are going to investigate this?" Tea asked.

"Leave that to the police guys!" Yugi exclaimed.

"Yug, it ain't dat easy."

"You guys know something that you're not telling us," Mai stated.  The others nodded in agreement. 

A nurse walked in the room.  She was a young redhead with emerald eyes.  She looked at everyone in the sullen room.  Her expression was grave.  "We lost him," she whispered.

There was a moment of hush before the sobs erupted.  I had thought that Joey and I would be the only ones not crying, but it turned that I was the odd one out.  Joey was in fits, and I could see that I was on my own with the interrogation of the doctor.  I pulled the nurse close and whispered in her ear, "Can speak to the operator?"

She nodded, and led me out of the white and blue waiting area.  It took several minutes for us to reach the doctor's office.  We strode in and a dark-haired man in green surgical scrubs was sitting at his desk.  His fingers rested on the bridge of his nose.

"Dr. Rendell?" the nurse asked, and the man looked up.  "This man would like to talk to you about the boy you just operated on."

He eyed me up before motioning for me to sit and the nurse to leave.  We sat there for several moments before he spoke, "It's a shame for that kid.  What do you need, Kaiba?"

"Information."

"Right.  The bullet entered his chest, clipping pericardial sac, causing a large supply of blood to leak into the space between his heart and the sac.  The EMT had trouble locating his vital signs.  We had to open his chest, but the bleeding was so severe that he never made it through surgery.  A screw up that got lucky if you ask me."

"He doesn't hire screw ups."

"Newbie.  Someone who is still working on their shot.  Missed it.  I don't understand why they didn't take the head."

"You're probably right with the newbie thing.  Or, here's another theory.  He was told to take the guy in the chest, but not kill him immediately.  Now, we're talking about professionals."

"Speaking of professionals, you'll love this.  I got the bullet."

"You're the best."

"You'll be interested in this.  From the few years that I did in the military, I know this one big-ass gun.  Check it out," he said withdrawing a small plastic bag from his lab coat.

I took it out and studied the casing.  "Looks like a forty caliber.  Those are semi-hard to come by."

"I know.  I own one, and it's a pain in the ass to get.  Where do you think it came from?"

"Gozaburo has a guy he gets his weapons from.  Sells him everything without getting it licensed.  Probably there."

"Wait a minute, you're assuming that it was Gozaburo.  What if it wasn't?"

"Tonight we retired."

"Shit.  That would do it.  He picked the most unlikely target, your partner's friend."

"Yeah, and since I only really care about Mokuba, I'd be sure to have security for nuclear missile silos."

"Which is comprised of one man, right?"

"And a whole shit load of guns."

"You did the right thing by getting out. He probably would have turned on you anyway."

"I know.  Now the problem is how do break this to Mokuba?"

"You're on your own.  I can't help you with that."

"Forensics here yet?"

"They don't even know he's dead.  What should I do with the bullet?"

"Give it to them.  See what they come up with."

"Zero."

"Right.  If they do, it's either a plant or a some pissed off bitch."

"Take care of yourself man.  I know I won't see you for god knows how long. Before you go, talk to the cops."

"I know.  This may be a two-sided effort.  One of us going after the guy directly, the other gathering the info."

"Yeah.  You going to tell the family what happened?" 

"Might as well.  I'm going to have to tell Joey anyway.  Better now than later.  Thanks, Ed," I said before leaving.

The waiting room was still sobbing their eyes out, but it was not as hard as when I had first left.  When I entered they looked at me expectantly.  I took a deep breath before saying, "The bullet entered his chest, clipping pericardial sac, causing a large supply of blood to leak into the space between his heart and the sac.  The EMT had trouble locating his vital signs.  They had to open his chest, but the bleeding was so severe that he never made it through surgery."

"Fuck man," Joey said. 

He had calmed down considerably, and was now into the raging state.  I knew that there were some things that were going to be coming out of his mouth that would make him sound like a raving drunk.

"Before anyone thinks about ranting and raving that they're going to get the guy that did this, there is something we need to discuss," I continued.

"Like what?" Mr. Taylor asked.

"For starters, the forensics.  You need to be calm and collected with them.  I know your son was just killed, but ranting like a lunatic will only raise questions on your standpoint.  They may suspect that you're adding what never occurred.  Most importantly, tell them the truth.  They'll be asking each and every one of us a question so be ready.  Secondly, we may be dealing with a professional here."

"What do you mean a 'professional'?  You mean like an assassin?" Mrs. Taylor asked.

"Remember what I said about Tristan being a trigger?  Well, my conclusion from the medical report is that it was planned that Tristan would make it to the hospital, and maybe live, more as a warning than a trigger, or a bit of both."

"What do they want though?  I mean the killers." 

"Probably me," I said quietly.

"Kaiba how do you link to Tristan?" Mai asked.  "The two of you never liked each other.  Hell, you never liked anybody in our group besides Tea."

"Ask no questions and you'll hear no lies."

"That's comforting.  How do we know that you're not in on this?" Taylor asked.

"Why would I be in one this?"

"Mai said you never liked him…"

"She also said that I didn't like anybody," I cut.  "Trust me, I have better people to kill than your son.  People I hate worse."

"The Big Five," Mokuba whispered.

"And more.  I wouldn't waste my time with your son."

"Kaiba, what can bout dat bullet?" Joey asked.

"Forty caliber."

"Aren't those a bitch ta come by?"

"Yeah, which is why I suspect a professional."

There was a knock at the door.  Two women stepped in.  Both were your average height, except one had brown hair while the other had blonde.

"You must all be the friends and family of Tristan Taylor?  I'm Katherine Willows and this Sarah Sidel, we're with the Domino city crime lab," the blonde said.

"Crime lab?" Mai asked.

"Forensics," I said.

"Could you please tell me your name?" the brunette asked.

"Seto Kaiba, and was a… distant friend."

"If you're a 'distant' friend, why are you here?"

"The vic was my girlfriend's friend."

"He has a name you know!" Mrs. Taylor stated.

"We're aware of that, Mrs. Taylor?" the blonde asked.

"Yes."

"We're going to want to question all of you."

"I'm sure there's better places than this to interrogate," I said.  "Perhaps you may want to leave the parents alone, since they do need to make arrangements."

The women eyed me.  The brunette had hint of interest in her eyes while the blonde was more questioning. 

"I'm not a suspect, and I have a perfectly good alibi for where I was."

"We never accused you," the blonde said with even more suspicion.

"Look, I've dealt with cops enough to know how they think.  I gave your looks my side of it.  At one o'clock I was sitting my brother's room, and I have video tapes to prove it."

"Why are you telling us this?"

"So you get off my back and I can leave."

"Well you're digging yourself a deeper hole," the brunette informed.

"That's nice.  Now can you please get your interrogation started?  I don't want to be here all night."

"You look like you've been awake for a while," Willows commented.  

"I work late at night," I shrugged.

"Do you have a gun?" she asked.

"Smith and Wesson thirty-eight."

"Really?  Do you have it on you?"

"Why?"

"I love Smith and Wessons."

"That is the biggest load of shit I have ever heard, but go ahead and check for GSR.  You won't find any and the chamber is filled."

"Right.  Sarah go check if the doctor recovered the bullet please, and interrogate him as well."

The brunette nodded and left the room.  The woman stared at me as if she was trying to determine why I was doing this.

"You're either incredibly smart, incredibly helpful, or incredibly stupid," she said.

"I vote for da last one," Joey said.

"Shut it mutt.  You're pretty damn lucky I'm in a good mood today."

"What about the police officer standing right in front of you?" Willows asked.

"What about you?"

"You realize how suspicious you look?"

"You want to know something?  I.  Don't. Care.  Period."

"Well, you should.  If that turns out to be a thirty-eight, you're being carted down-town."

Sidel returned.  "It was a forty caliber, and have it right here."

"You don't happen to own a forty do you?" Willows asked.

"One of the only I don't; they're a bitch to get."

"Well, I'm sorry to keep you.  One last question: how did you and Tristan get along?"

"The same way I get along with everyone: badly.  Let's go, Mokuba."

"Dat jerk!  Look, I'd love let yah question me, but I gotta get home.  Here's my phone number when yah need it."

"We'll be in touch."

"Serenity, Mai, come on.  Let's go home," the blonde said before saying to the Taylor's, "I'm sorry for your loss.  Tristan was like a brother ta me."

I had been waiting outside, listening in on the conversation.  The trio came out with solemn looks on their faces.  Joey looked at me, allowing me to glimpse the tears that now threatened to roll down his cheeks.  I said nothing in the elevator or when we separated to go to our cars.  Something caught my attention.  A black box extruded from the car.  Mokuba had also seen the box, and was backing away from the car.  I saw a similar one on Joey's car, but it had gone unnoticed by him.

"JOEY!" I screamed.

He looked over, and I made the universal gesture for bomb.  He threw Mai and Serenity out of the car, and began running away.  A huge explosion sent Mokuba and I flying backwards, sending me into a wall.  Mokuba landed next to me, thankfully away from the bricks.  I looked over to Joey and the others.  Mai was in a motionless heap, probably knocked out from hitting the cement so hard.  Joey was lying against the wall like me, Serenity in his arms.  I looked down at Mokuba.  His eyes were watering as he looked up at me.  

"Big brother, I won't tell," he whispered.

He had figured it out.  He was definitely my baby brother.  I hugged him close to my body, and for the first time in nearly ten years, I cried.  

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tornado: *in tears* Why is the world so mean?

DT: Because you make it mean.

Tornado: Shut up!  I wanted to add the fact that I don't own CSI either.  I couldn't think of names for the detectives.

DT: I don't think there's anything original in this chapter.

Tornado: I borrowed Ed Rendell's name from that guy that governs my state.  At least we get slot machines now.  Anyway R&R.


	4. Author's Note

Tornado: Hi people.  Look, I have to start school tomorrow, and I'm not sure how much time I'll get to write.

DT: This doesn't mean that the story is going to halt for god knows how many moths until there's a day off, the chapters just may be strung out a bit more.

Tornado: I wish I could stay off all the time to write, but I can't.  this wouldn't be so bad, except my computer doesn't have the internet, so I have to use my Dad's laptop.

DT: Which wouldn't be bad either, except he's on it all the time at night.  

Tornado: I just wanted to let you know that because I may hit a spell where there won't be something for about two weeks.  

DT: Anyone that has a problem with this, they can stick it up their ass.

Tornado: Shut the hell up, DT.


	5. Escape

Tornado: I love you reviewer people!!!  I got three more reviews, and all of them were so kind!!!!

DT: Well, at least she isn't one of her usual bitching rampages.

Tornado:*singing* I feel loved! Oh so loved!

DT:O.O Okay then, Tornado doesn't own Yugioh, so let's get on with the fic.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I watched Joey as he paced across the hallway.  The night had many things in store for us.  First, we quit, secondly Taylor was shot and killed, and finally we had an attack on ourselves and our families.  Tea was staring at me with a glare; she wanted the truth.  Mai was in the examining room and Serenity had her face buried in her hands.  I glanced at Mokuba, who was sitting silently at my side.  He had not said a word since the explosion.  I too had been relatively soundless, only speaking when Joey addressed me.

"Seto?" the pacing blonde asked. 

"Yeah?"

"I think we should get outta here."

"What about them?" I asked, pointing to the other occupants of the room.  "What will they do?  He's sure to strike again.  He'll know that the bomb didn't whack us."

"That's my point, if we get the hell away from here, they'll be in less danger."

"NO they won't!  They'll be in MORE danger because we won't be able to protect them?  Don't you get it?!  We can't leave them here now!  Where we go, they go."

he fell quiet.  I was right and he knew it.  

"What are we supposed to do?" he asked.

"Run.  Run far away."

Mai exited the examining room to find us arguing.  We both looked at her before she silently nodded.  She had heard, and was willing to make the sacrifice.  I looked at Mokuba who nodded as well before grabbing Tea's arm, and pulling her away.  The others were right on my heel we darted down the steps and out of the hospital.  Yugi was walking with his grandfather when Joey snatched his arm as well, pulling him in the opposite direction.  The small boy didn't struggle, but looked from Joey to me in confusion.  I shook my head, signaling that it was not something that he wanted to question just yet.  My number one goal was to get us to my mansion, and get out of this damned city in one piece.

Tea's car was a pink Honda Civic, nothing that could fit seven people into it.  We had no other choice but to squeeze everyone in.  

"We're not fitting everyone in my car!" Tea cried.  "We'll get pulled over!"

"We have no other options so get in!" I responded.

She appeared doubtful, but scrunched herself into the back seat.  Mai and Serenity took the other two seats while Mokuba and Yugi sat on their laps.  I could barely see out the back window as I back the car out of the parking space and threw it into drive.  Joey was grasping onto the door as I took the corner at fifty, and proceeded to speed down the highway.  

"We should stop and pick up my car," Mai suggested.  "It's really cramped back here!"

"There's no time, Mai.  We have ta get outta da city as soon as possible!" Joey replied.

"So we're going to drive like this for a while?!?" Tea asked.  "That's dangerous."

 "We're going to the mansion first.  Joey and I need to pick up a few things, which includes a SUV.  This thing's too easy to track." 

"What do you mean by that?" Tea asked.

"Who else do you know that has a fucking pink car?"

"I like pink!"

"It's a gay color."

"No sex for you then!!!!"

"My brother's in the car!!!!!!!!!"

"You think I can't hear?" Mokuba asked.

Tea blushed, and fell silent.  I stared at the road ahead with my hands gripping the steering wheel tightly.  We pulled into the driveway shortly after four AM.  Joey and I were the first to escape the car, and we assisted the others in getting out before running into house.  I stormed into the ballroom with Joey trotting closely behind.  He watched intently as I removed a panel from the wall, and pressed my hand against it, allowing the scanner to identify me.  After a few seconds, four additional panels removed themselves, revealing approximately forty guns.  Joey stared around at them in awe before selecting two handguns.  I also chose a pair of guns for myself, but picked three others for Mai, Serenity, and Mokuba.  Tea and Yugi wouldn't have the stomach to fire at anyone, even if they were attacking them. 

The group was watching apprehensively.  I tossed everyone a gun except for Tea and Yugi before motioning for them to follow me.  Joey led the way to the garage.  He grabbed a set of keys off of the key rack and proceeded to a black Explorer.  Mokuba got the third seating row in place while joey and I got any extra ammo that we would need, which included a few grenades and machine guns. We climbed into the front seats, Joey in the passengers and I in the driver's.  The doors opened, and I eased the vehicle out of the doors.  We had just turned out of the driveway when I saw headlights in the rear-view mirror.

"Joey?  Do you see that?" I asked.

He looked behind us, and his face paled.  

"Oh shit! Mokuba, Yugi climb into the second row now!  Mai, watch out, I'm comin back!" he barked as he climbed over the seats.  

I kept a close eye on the car as it got closer and closer to our tail.  

"I'm ready when yah are, Seto!" he called.

I kept watching the car.  It seemed harmless enough,  until I saw the silhouette of a man carrying a gun leaning out of the window.  I quickly popped the glass part of the back, allowing Joey to get a clear shot.  One shot was fired, but it missed us.  I heard Joey's semi-automatic fire off two shots, which both busted glass.

"I got da shooter, but I pissed da driver off," he said.

I floored the car and was soon zooming past everything.  Up ahead, a Mercedes Benz blocked my exit route, forcing me to turn down an alley way.  There two more gunmen awaited us, and began firing immediately.  I threw the car into reverse.  Joey aimed his gun again, firing shots out the back window at the original assailant.  I rammed into the car, and did a U-turn heading my original direction.  The blockade was still there, causing me to screech to a stop.  Both occupants of the car pulled out silencers and got out of the car.  I heard Joey fire more shots out the back until his chamber was empty.

"Man, yah gotta go!  Ram those mother fuckers!" he cried, desperately trying to reload.  

I floored the car, charging straight at them.  The assassins jumped out of the way, leaving me clear ram of the Mercedes.  The car crunched easily as I drove over it, revealing a long stretch of highway.  My breathing slowed down as we drove further. 

"You guys okay?" I asked.

"Yeah, Seto, we're fine.  Jesus fuck this goin ta be a whole shit load harder than we thought," Joey replied.

"Why are all of those men chasing you? And why do you have guns?" Tea asked.

I glanced at Joey.  He heard Mai and the others grunt in agreement.  I nodded at him before glaring at the road again.

"It's pretty simple.  Seto and I are assassins."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tornado: Dun, dun, dun, dun, dun!

DT: She's hyper.

Tornado: Shut up!  Was this a good enough action scene? There's going to be plenty more where that came from.  The next chapter's going to be kind of boring.

DT: But we'll try to make it interesting.

Tornado: R&R.    


End file.
